I Told You So
by Ablivion
Summary: Will Seth get the last laught? Just a little drabble that came to me as I watched Seth in the ring, during Battleground, glare over his shoulder. It's my idea of what I think has been going through Seth's mind recently because as I watch Seth from week to week, I like to think that I see hints that everything he is doing is part of a bigger plan for The Shield, so here's to hoping!


**A/N: Unfortunately, I still don't own any of these characters. I'm working out a deal with a shooting star though, so hopefully that will change one day ;)**

**As always, please feel free to review...they make me happy! Hope you enjoy my Shield optimism :)**

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Seth glared over his shoulder at the audience. If someone would have told him, when he'd first hit his brothers with a steel chair, that people would abandon their beliefs in The Shield so quickly, he never would have believed them. He _really_ wouldn't have believed them if they'd said how fast his brothers would turn on him, causing nothing but pain to flood into his chest, filling the gap in his life that his brothers had once occupied. He was astonished at quickly they'd turned on him. Where had their faith in him gone?

As much as it hurt him that not only former believers, but his own brothers now thought, without question, that he had betrayed them all, Seth knew it was a sacrifice he needed to make in order to bring down The Authority; it had to be him. Dean was too fragile to get the type of threats from the WWE Universe that Seth got on a daily basis. Heck, it'd taken Roman and Seth months to reassure Dean, a man used to getting cussed out by audiences on a nightly basis, that WWE fans actually _did_ like him. As for Roman, his whole persona depended on his claims of loyalty and friendship. It only made sense that, as usual, Seth would make the sacrifice, that he'd endure all the fans' hatred and threats, instead of his friends.

Now, as he stood once again in the ring, listening to chants of "you sold out," Seth realized just how blind people could be. Didn't they see the way he watched Dean and Roman's matches, cringing every time one of his best friends took a nasty hit? Didn't anyone notice how Seth was never the one to start a fight with either of his friends? In fact, Seth was the one running from the brawls. Sure, it made him look like a spineless coward, but he could tolerate the insults to his pride, if it meant he wouldn't have to hurt his best friends. Only at Battleground had things gotten messy and out of hand...

In the years that Seth had known Reigns and Ambrose, he would never have guessed that Dean had a vindictive streak that ran so deeply; it was nothing he could have planned for. Thus, when Ambrose continued to attack Seth, drawing out even Triple H to the brawl at Battleround, Seth had no choice but to act the part of vicious traitor. He forced himself to jump at Ambrose, while pulling his punches, for the sake of giving Triple H an appropriate show of hatred. He had to make sure that Triple H believed, without a doubt, that Seth was squarely in The Authority's corner. Everything hinged on belief...people had to believe that Seth was all for feeding his brothers to the lion, Triple H. If anyone had any suspicions to the contrary, all his planning would be for nothing.

Thus, as he looked out at all the sneering faces, shouting God knew what at him, he kept his mind squarely on the end result. Whenever he envisioned the fall of The Authority, and the rise of the wrestler controlling his or her own destiny within the company, like he and his brothers had mused about for so long, Seth decided that being a martyr was something he could live with. He was strong enough to do this, and he didn't plan to have all his sacrifices amount to nothing. So for now, he'd let his brothers and the fans hate him, but when the time came, he vowed to relish every moment of the 'I told you so's that he planned to deal out.

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**A/N: I know that after Smackdown on 7/25/2014, this argument I've written for Seth may seem a little rocky, but I have another short piece coming up that explains why Seth attacked Dean after his no disqualification match with Cesaro, so stay tuned for "Is It All Worth It?"**


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